Cyril Rioli – St. Mary’s/Northern Territory
Ht: 178 cm Wt: 74 kg

Junior position – Midfield / Forward

AFL position – Forward / Midfield

Considered by some to be as talented as anyone in this draft. He has superb skills off either foot and he has good distance on his kicks and he regularly will pick out his man in stride and too advantage. He has great vision, reads play extremely well both in the midfield and up forward and he invariably takes the best option for his team. He is quick (3rd in the repeat sprint at Camp), moves well and has great balance managing to keep his feet and evade tackles with seeming ease. Up forward he is very dangerous as evidenced by his 7 goals against Qld at the Champs. He uses his pace well up forward and reads the ball of packs well. His hands are good for a small guy and he is very much a one touch player. Despite all the positives he is considered a higher risk than other prospects. He has been carrying injuries for much of the year and is carrying more weight and less condition than ideal for him at this stage. Questions have also been asked whether he has the dedication to make the most of his talent.

Strengths: On field he is the complete package – great skills, pace, vision, football intelligence and very good around goal.
Weaknesses: At 178 he is on the short side.

Question marks: Does he want it enough? Will there be lingering injury issues?

Draft Prediction: 5-10

Callan Ward – Western Jets
Ht: 183 cm Wt: 71 kg
Junior position – Midfield / Utility
AFL position – Midfield / Utility
Bottom aged super skilled natural footballer who has had an outstanding year. Looks to be a player who will continue his development and become a legitimate AFL footballer.
Strengths: Great skill by hand and foot which showcase very good decision making with the ball. Very capable in the air for a player of his size and is a natural footballer who can play forward, back or in the midfield.
Weaknesses: Body strength will need significant attention, speed.
Question marks: May not have an absolute natural AFL position
Draft Prediction: 50+/rookie/undrafted

Cale Morton – Claremont
Ht: 192 cm Wt: 79 kg

Junior position – Utility/Wing

AFL position – Utility / Wing / Forward

Cale Morton is as most know the youngest of the three Morton boys (Mitchell-Eagles, Jarryd-Hawthorn) has been touted as the most promising for a few years although junior record is very similar to Mitch’s. Blessed with the confidence to back his enormous skill levels and running abilities ensures that every time Cale runs out on a football oval he catches spectators eyes, whether it be on the floor or in the air your confident that he will more often than not come out with the ball. Cale started the season off very well and collected massive amounts of possessions in most games he played and also topped that off with some bags of 5 goals the only game where he didn’t play as well as he normally does was the grand final but I don’t think that’s going to way against him much.

Strengths: Excellent footskills, smarts, aerobic capacity
Weaknesses: Can fall into the trap of becoming a receiver

Question marks: What is his best position?

Draft Prediction: 1-5

Ben Gibson – Morningside/Queensland
Ht: 191 cm Wt: 83 kg

Junior position – Key Defender

AFL position – Key Defender

Look for Gibson to be the smokey from this year’s Qld screening to be taken quite high. Gibson along with Zorko were easily Qld’s best players at this year’s Champs. Playing at Fullback he covered his man well and provided good run from defence. He is very good overhead and is not afraid to back himself to take a mark deep in defence and he has good skills by foot. He has good closing speed and athleticism and is a very difficult match up for most forwards. As with most 18 year old key position prospects he is lightly built but he has a frame that looks like it will bulk out nicely. He is listed at 190 in the material distributed at the Champs and teams might initially have overlooked him as a KP prospect because of this. It has been recently reported though that he is now up to 193 and at that height a lot of teams are going to go back and look at him closely. What they will see is a guy who has built on his Champs form nicely and produced some great games for Morningside in defence including taking Mitch Clark out of the game he played against the Suncoast Lions. A good match for the Allies is also not going to hurt his cause.
Strengths: A legitimate shut down defender who can take marks and work his man the other way.
Weaknesses: Some of his decision making can occasionally concern and he will often go for the mark where a punch would be more appropriate.

Question marks: What will he measure in at?

Draft Prediction: 45+/rookie

Austin Wonaeamirri – St. Mary’s/Norwood/Northern Territory
Ht: 176 cm Wt: 76 kg

Junior position – Midfield / Wing

AFL position – Midfielder

Wonaeamirri was voted the Territory’s best player at the Champs and gave them great run with his hard at it ball winning skills. He is a little on the short side and does not seem to have great body shape for an AFL player but he probably covered as much ground as any of the Territory guys. He has good pace and despite his size has the knack of keeping his feet and bursting through tackles. He has pretty good vision and although he will look to take the right options his disposal occasional lets him down. His tackling is also a feature of his game and he will do the 1%ers that coaches love. Since the Champs he has been playing regular first team football for Norwood and regularly getting mentions amongst the best. It is probably this Norwood form which could see him get drafted. It is worth noting that he is also a year older than most of the others potential draftees and this might well be held against him.

Strengths: He is a ball winner, runs hard and is quick.
Weaknesses: He is short and his disposal will let him down on occasion.

Question marks: Does he have the development in him that the younger guys do? Will he be able to adapt his game to the AFL game with the increased height and athleticism of the opposition?

Draft Prediction: 50+/rookie

Tom Collier - Lauderdale/Tasmania
Ht: 192 cm   Wt: 86 kg
Junior Position: Centre Half Back/Ruck Rover
AFL Position: Centre Half Back/Ruck Rover
Collier is one of the most versatile options in the draft this year, equally capable at Centre Half Back and as a Ruck Rover. Collier is capable of playing on the shorts and talls in the backline and has tremendous dash, being able to run off his opponent and break the lines off Centre Half Back. As well as this he has the smarts and explosiveness to play in the midfield, making him a recruiters dream. Tom excelled playing for the Tasmanian Devils in the VFL this year, Colliers game centers around his ability to so quickly change defence into attack, with his run and carry and good foot skills. A good stopper at CHB, with an ability to find the ball in packs, Collier was named in The U18 All Australian Team, after a solid showing at the National Championships in which he averaged 23 disposals
Strengths: agility, explosiveness, versatility, good frame for CHB
Weaknesses: decision making, lack of height for Key Position Player.
Question Marks: Was overlooked as a bottom aged player last year, showing clubs have some concerns - will this affect his value? Does he have the height to hold down Centre Half Back in the AFL?
Draft Prediction: Pick 10 - 25

Tim Bongetti – Northern Knights
Ht: 191 cm Wt: 89 kg
Junior position – Full Forward
AFL position – Full Forward
Bongetti is a man child who sure knows how to play full forward. He is unproven in any other position on the field and he is unproven against players of his own size which he would encounter every day of the week in the AFL.
Strengths: Ability to kick goals, strong contested mark, knows how to play Full Forward.
Weaknesses: Agility, Lack of versatility- one position player, Defensive game needs improvement, Endurance running looks very weak.
Question marks: Ability to step up to AFL level
Draft Prediction: Rookie/ Undrafted
Stats: TAC 2007. 63 goals from 15 games is an excellent strike rate. Took 39 contested marks and 38 uncontested marks however I feel like this stat hurts Bongetti as he has significant size advantage on many of his TAC opponents which he wouldn’t enjoy in the AFL. I would prefer a high performing Full Forward to be more proficient on the lead.

Tayte Pears - East Perth
Ht: 192 cm   Wt: 90 kg
Junior Position: CHB
AFL Position: CHB/FB
Big, tall and extremely athletic Key Back who is a master at rebounding from the back 50. Bottom aged and is very laid back and negats the opposition very well. Shat on Vic Metro by getting 17 touches with 4 rebounds from back 50.
Strengths:  Athletic and good endurance, Spoiling ability, Rebounding ability, Good Overhead, Reads the play very well, Bottom aged (room for improvement)
Weaknesses: Positioning - Relies heavily on reading the play, Height isn’t ideal for AFL CHB, Pure Leg speed
Question Marks: Is he tall enough for AFL? Can he play in a struggling team to maximise on rebounding skills?
Draft Prediction: Pick 10-30
 

Sam Reid – Zillmere/Queensland
Ht: 185 cm Wt: 75 kg
Junior position – HBF / HFF
AFL position – HBF / midfield
Reid is an AIS Academy player with a big reputation who hurt his draft stock with a below par performance at the championships. He is a ball winner who reads play well and is good off either foot. He has good height and pace and seems to have that bit of class that sets him apart from others. He is light on his feet, seems good in traffic and takes a good mark for his size. He is considered by many as the most talented of the Qld prospects this year. A medial ligament tear toward the end of the season is not going to help his chances given that he has been on the sidelines for 10 weeks. The good news is though that it should not affect his preseason.
Strengths: Good skills (by foot especially), is good athletically and is courageous in the contest.
Weaknesses: Tends to go to ground too easily and needs to build up his lower half. He has obviously done a lot of work on his upper body but he is a bit unbalanced at the moment. He also struggles to break a tag and his endurance needs work. When playing forward he also does not seem to have good goal sense
Question marks: Given his poor performance at the Championships will he struggle with the step up in class to the AFL? He has not performed as well as some of the other prospects in the AFLQ this year.
Draft Prediction: 20-40
Stats:

Patrick Veszpremi – Northern Knights
Ht: 181 cm Wt: 83 kg
Junior position – Midfield/ Utility
AFL position – Midfield/ Utility
A footballer’s footballer. Tough, smart, hard, skilled and extremely determined. Injuries curtailed his output this year. Firstly a thumb injury and secondly a bad shoulder which he played with till the end of the year.
Strengths: Strong body who attacks each contest with fierce desire. Good kick and mark for his size. Pace is good enough and could play back, forward or midfield in the AFL. Think of a bigger, quicker Gary Moorcroft and you are on the right track.
Weaknesses: Hard to rate where his endurance fitness is at because he has had such an interrupted year. If he tests lower than he should (may not test at all because of shoulder surgery) I wouldn’t be concerned. Veszpremi will work and work until he improves. Veszpremi also has a tendency to break tackles and packs (and mostly succeeds) however against AFL bodies he will find it a tougher ask.
Question marks: Has he been a man playing against boys?
Draft Prediction: 15-35
Stats: TAC 2007. Must be remembered that Veszpremi played many games hurt and deep forward. However, Veszpremi’s disposal by foot is elite. 130 effective kicks with only 36 ineffective kicks. He was less efficient by hand with 35 effective handballs compared to 23 ineffective handballs. Veszpremi kicked 34 goals from 11 games which included 8 goals in a wonderful solo performance.